Only you
by NamaewaHitsuyouwaNai
Summary: Karin gets a quick glimpse at death. But HE is there. Like always. A little Karin-Ichigo, sister-brother story.


My first story. Please don't shoot me even if it's too bad, too long, too boring or it simply shucks. Let's all play nice, mkay? ^_^

**Disclaimer:** Bleach is not mine, even if I strongly so desire. Niether are it's characters. They all belong to Tite Kubo, and the guy only keeps them for himself.

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**Karin faces death (Only you...)**

A normal day out with the boys. We're on the football field, trying hard to improve our skills – al least I'm trying to, I don't really know about the others. It's a bloody hot Sunday afternoon, and we're sweating so badly you could say we've actually just gotten out of the shower. The smell though says otherwise. And if you're not sure what to believe anymore, I'd say you'd better place your bet on the smell.

We decide to take a break – the guys look like they might as well turn to dust and scatter in the wind. They're all red, almost as if someone was choking them up until now, and they breathe like some thousand years old geezers. I'm surprised their lungs didn't just come out their mouths by now.

So we let the ball down on the field for a while, and we all slump to the ground, catching our breaths, stretching up a little, the usual relaxing routine.

I let myself fall on the grass underneath a close tree. I stare up through the leaves and branches of the tree. They should be moving, but the air is so hot and still, it looks like time has forever stopped. I close my eyes and focus my attention on nothing but my own chest movements – breathe in, breathe out, on and on and on until the only thing I hear is the regulated beating of my heart.

Suddenly I open my eyes. A breeze flew through my hair, caressing my burning forehead and cheeks. It should feel really nice, but somehow I feel like I've been touched by the hands of one of those guys who offer kids free candies that only seem to be available in the darkness of their close-by-parked, dark, suspicious minivans. It feels disgusting.

I get up on my butt, staring at the sky. It's still cloudy, like it was all day till now, and the sun still manages somehow to burn with the strength of a billion fires. But the wind is alive now, and the air feels incredibly dry and heavy and hard to breath. My chest hurts when I take it in, it feels so thight, it's like it's crushing me. I'm sure I don't have an asthma attack, since I _don't _have asthma or any other health problems like that. As a matter of fact, I can proudly say I'm a pretty effing healthy brat. Of course, I'm a very loud, cheeky, dirty-mouthed, annoying brat, but that's not exactly what is commonly known as a disease. So what could it be?

Looking around, I notice that I'm the only one noticing there's something strange going on. How can this be? How come they're not sensing it?

But I haven't got the time to begin wondering whether I've finally snapped and gone crazy or not.

Because now I know what this is. This horrible sensation, like something bad's on it's way to get us, floating around, patiently waiting for it's prey to become completely unaware of it's surroundings.

I look up again just in time to see the sky tearing apart. More accurately said, being torn apart. First there's two clawed hands. Then two more. Then a hideously hideous head covered in a bony mask. Then it all slips through the opening and starts creeping towards us.

I fully get up, and yell at the ohers to scram, get their asses home, training's over. They only have to look once at my frowned expression, to tell that I'm serious, so they do scram. In less than ten seconds, I'm the only one left on the field.

By now, I don't have to stare up anymore. It's right here, in front of me. The monster. The demon from Hell. The Hollow, as I've secretly heard my brother and his friends call it. It looks straight at me. It's ass-ugly, this thing. I gawk at it, and it sneers. It knows full well that I can see it, and it's obviously enjoying it.

Suddenly, my feet are cold and numb, and even though I tell myself to just get moving and start running, my body disobeys. I can't move an inch, not even a damn millimeter. I realize I'm going to die. It's going to kill me, and it'll do it gladly, joyfully even.

This is my last day alive and I've just wasted it on football practice!

Fuck!

My thoughts drift towards home. My cute, adorable twin sister and the dinner she made that awaits me. My idiotic father who pleasures himself (in a non-perverted way, I always hope, although given his personality you can never really know!) by fighting every day and every minute with my brother. My brother...

My big brother, my one and only Onii-san, with his strong arms, and his kind eyes, and his usually smart-ass smile that I've so well managed to imitate.

My brother, with his weird orange spiky hair and his weird friends.

My brother, with his even weirder job...

I know that every time I see him dressed in his black kimono, he's ready to wield his sword against these creepy, stinky, butt-ugly monsters. Because he's a Shinigami Substitute, whose job is to send souls to someplace he calls Soul Society – but it's commonly known among regular people as Heaven. It's a place where even these Hollows seem to be able to get there when they die.

I wish my brother was with me right here and right now, but I know he's not coming. Because he's not _here_ right now. He's _there_.

I'll be _there_ too in just a second. Maybe we'll meet there, on the other side, when my soul breaks free from his flesh-and-bone cage. I really hope I can see him one last time...

Brother!

My eyes flood with tears. They wash away on my face, streaming down, falling heavily on the ground, feeding the thirsty grass beneath my feet.

Brother!...

I look up in the eyes of the demon that'll rob me of my life, hating him with all my might. But I'm so frozen, I can't even properly say 'I hate you!'.

It sways one of its four big clawed hands. It's going up and I instinctively know that the moment it'll come down I'll be dead. For real. For good. For ever. Dead with no turning back. I close my eyes, I squeeze them tightly. I don't want to see it happening, even if I know it will, I don't want to see it.

I wait. And I wait even more.

There's nothing but silence. Then something brushes against me, and I hear a noise. But it isn't the sound of my flesh being torn to pieces.

Could it be that I'm already dead? Was it so fast that I simply didn't realize it's all over already?

I squint through my right eye, catching a glimpse of the eternal darkness that most definitely surrounds me. Such a nice scented darkness. If this is how death feels like, then I might not mind it that much…

The darkness shifts in front of me, and I can feel it getting even closer, so close it's touching me.

'Are you okay? Karin!'

I look up in disbelief. This voice, so filled with worry, so sweet and familiar, I know it. I know it so well!

'Brother?' I whisper softly, not sure that the orange spikes I see are really there.

'It's okay, Karin. I'm here!'

I smile, my tears falling even faster now, but falling in relief. _He_'s here! He's back! He's really here!

The fight is over in no time. One moment they are going at each other, and the next the Hollow vanishes, leaving its loud, inhumanly sad howl behind.

He turns to me. His face says it all: how worried he was when he thought he'd lose me; how terrified when he realized he might not get to me in time; how truly happy he is I'm still here, still alive. He looks at me, checking for any sign of wound, but I'm alright, so he smiles. His kind, 'big brother smile'. My favorite. He ruffles my hair.

I don't usually like it, because it makes me feel I'm being treated like a baby, but right now it's the world bestest thing I could ever feel.

He falls down to his knees. And hugs me. Hugs me tightly. I can feel him shaking. How come I haven't realized? He's been shaking all this time, afraid for me, for my life. I hug him back. Very tight. He's so warm and he feels so safe.

'Ichi-nii!', my voice lets out an incredibly loud cry.

'Ichi-nii! Ichi-nii! Ichi-nii!', I say his mane again and again and again, as if it were some sort of protective charm. But he _is_ my protective charm, so it's alright.

He holds me even tighter, and gently rocks me, lulls me until I calm down.

He gets up, letting go of me. I don't want to let go, so I grab his sleeve, clutching it with all the strength I have left, trembling. I look into his eyes. I don't say a word. I don't have to. He knows, so he holds his hand to me. I take it, squeezing it tight. Why are his hands so big, so warm, so welcoming, so reassuring?

He smiles at me, again. This time, his smart-ass-ness is showing, although just a little, teensy, tiny bit.

'Shall we go home now? I bet Yuzu's cooking something really good for us!'

'Mmkay…'

We start walking our way home. I look at his hand, holding mine, and then I see the setting sun shining red through hid orange hair. He's so tall I have to stretch my neck to do it, but I do it anyway, fascinated by the view.

We walk in silence.

I look at him again. He's grown so much stronger than before. Every time I see him in this black kimono, he's stronger than the previous time. I bite my lip. I want to say it out loud, I want it so badly, but I know how cheesy my words would sound, and right now I don't want him making fun of my being such a spoiled brat.

So I don't say it. Instead, I lightly squeeze his hand again.

Only _you_ will always be here for me. Only _you_ will always save me. Only YOU...

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Well, that was it, hope it didn't suck that much! For any of you who's read it, reviews are welcome, favorable and not. Just as long as you don't bring your machine-gun with you...^_^


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